Growing Beyond Our Past

Luke tells us that John the Baptist came preaching about repentance. Loads of us associate the word “repentance” with condemnation and harsh judgment. John, some assume, tells his listeners that they don’t measure up. God is on the way. We had better clean up our acts before the axe falls.

But repentance is about growing beyond our past through the power of God’s love for us. Here’s how I put it in A Resurrection Shaped Life:

Repentance is more than a sin-cancelling transaction. When we repent, we admit that the sorrows, the losses, the wounds, the betrayals, and the regrets of our past have made us into someone we don’t want to be anymore. We die to that self and entrust ourselves to Jesus. From those shattered places in our lives, Christ brings new life; to put it another way: repentance is the beginning of our resurrection. Right here…